Marijuana Activist Matt Mernagh Guides You Through Strains In New Book

(CBS Seattle / JACK Seattle) — Longtime Canadian marijuana activist Matt Mernagh has a brand new book out that may come in handy for residents in Washington who plan to dabble with the recently-legalized substance.

Put simply, Marijuana Smoker’s Guidebook: The Easy Way To Identify and Enjoy Marijuana Strains aims to pair certain types of strains with certain types of smokers.

Mernagh, who is the only person ever to be personally legally exempted from Canada’s marijuana laws, has regularly written for Toronto’s alternative weekly NOWand several other publications. He currently runs an extensive collection of cannabis smoke reports on his website, mernagh.ca.

In preparation for an appearance at Vancouver, B.C.’s Kush Cup, he spoke with CBS Seattle to explain the purpose of his book and also weighed in on what the future holds for legal cannabis in North America.

Would you equate this book to a craft beer guide book?One-hundred percent like a craft beer guide or a wine guide. If you’re a marijuana enthusiast, this is the guide for you — especially in a place like Seattle … You’re gonna be able to take this guide right to your outlet and flip through it and find the strains you want.

Matt Mernagh’s first-ever book features smoke reports and descriptionsof the most popular strains from around the globe (Green Candy Press)

For the people in Washington who’ve never smoked marijuana because of its illegality, what are the basic types of cannabis?There’s indica, which is your sedated, relaxing, mellow kind of high — and there’s sativa, which is your uplifting, soaring, “get up, get it on” type of stoned. And then you have your hybrids.

Is one more prominent than the other in the U.S.?Most people in the U.S. are into indica because it grows faster, more people prefer it and more growers offer it because of that … I’m heading to British Columbia and it has nothing but heavy, heavy idica. The indica on the west coast is really intense.

What are the more popular strains in North America right now?Right here in Toronto we have Justin Bieber Kush … It’s got an uplifting high … I can actually sit through a Justin Bieber video if I smoke it which is rare for me … One of the most popular strains in the U.S. right now is one called Girl Scout Cookies. I haven’t had any yet myself…

What do you think the culture of marijuana will be like in the U.S. five years from now?I think what your state should realize is that you gave the world hope … You helped take down the walls of prohibition — and prohibition is a big wall like the Berlin Wall. For a place like Washington state kicking in the wall…it’s starting to crumble. I’m not saying every state is gonna fall that way, but I think a lot of states are looking at Washington saying, “hey, we can fix some of our budgetary woes.” Ultimately there’s going to be such a push from the state level that the federal government will just have to cave on this issue.

What region do you think can benefit the most from legal marijuana?It’s gonna come down to who can offer tourists the best opportunity to smoke marijuana legally … That’s what people are looking for. Once it’s offered, that city and/or state should hold on for an incredibly great ride of economic prosperity.

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Mernagh will be appearing at the Kush Cup in Vancouver, B.C. from June 28 – 30.